"So…I guess you have to get back to work now, huh?" Willow said with a sad smile.
"Yeah…" Hunter replied. He wished he didn't have to. He wished he could ignore his duties and just spend the rest of the day hanging out with Gus and Willow, but he knew that was impossible. Belos would be furious if he did that-heck, it probably wasn't a good idea to even just be spending these past few minutes with his mask off, eating chips and talking to these two Hexside students. This though, was a small risk he was willing to take.
"Don't be a stranger, okay?" Gus said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood. "You should take a break from your patrol, or whatever it is you do, sometime and come watch us practice."
A half-smile jolted at Hunter's lips. "I guess I could break away for a few minutes now and then. You know, if I happen to be in the area." He had the feeling he'd be in the area a lot more often from now on. You know, coincidentally. Some of his days were much slower than others, afterall; he was sure no one would mind if he started to patrol in town more. If he were to slip away to Hexside's flyer derby field for a minute or two, who would know?
He wouldn't mind sneaking around a little if it meant he could see more of his newfound friends.
"Right," Willow said, her expression brightening. "As your captain, I'll be holding you to that!"
Hunter grinned. "Got it, Captain." He stood up, brushing a few crumbs off his clothing, and walked over to a trash bin to throw the remains of his chips and drink away. He looked down at the mask held in his hands, and was quiet for a moment, before glancing back at Gus and Willow. "So I guess I'll…See you guys around."
"See you." Willow gave a small wave goodbye, and she and Gus turned away at the same time Hunter did. It was a sort of awkward goodbye, but then again, Hunter had never really had anyone to say goodbye to before. Things that were supposed to be small and simple, like parting ways from a friend, still addled his mind. Come to think of it, he didn't really say goodbye or anything to Willow, Gus, and the others the last time he saw them. That had been a more bitter departure, neither party sure how to feel about the other just quite yet.
So this was how it felt to say goodbye to a friend, huh? He guessed he'd have to get used to that. With that thought, a content expression washed over his face. It wasn't until Gus and Willow were out of sight that he put his mask back on.
Yup, that little interaction definitely made up for the crappy first half of his day.
Of course, because Hunter was Hunter, things had to go a little sideways again.
As he picked up where he left off and continued to make his way to the convention center, he found himself lost in thought and didn't even notice that Kikimora was standing in front of him until he almost ran into her. He halted in his step immediately, eyes widening behind his mask.
"Kikimora? What are you doing here?" Hunter demanded, his tone equal parts disbelieving and icy. Of course. Why did she always have to show up at the worst moments? He just couldn't catch a break, could he?
"I was simply sent here to give assistance with the preparations for tomorrow," she said all-too innocently. "Belos seemed worried that you would get…distracted."
Hunter snorted. "And he sent you of all people? Right, well you can go back to the castle, I don't need help. I've got this covered."
"Mm hm," she hummed, her tone mocking him. "Care to explain what you were doing back there then, Golden Guard? Because it looked to me like you were shirking from your duties to talk to school children."
Hunter was starting to wonder if Belos really sent Kikimora here, or if she was just trying to make him look bad. She did have nefarious tendencies, afterall. He of all people would know, it was just the other week that she'd gone as far as to try to kill him! He wondered if Belos ever got wind of that, now that he thought about it. He never told his uncle outright what had happened because there was the chance that Kikimora had some dirt to hold over him as well, like letting the palismen escape, for example. He wasn't even sure if she realized it was him, and even if she did, it was hardly as bad as trying to murder him, but…well, he wasn't entirely sure Belos would see it that way. The Emperor could very well take Hunter's decision to let the human get away with the palismen as treason since he needed them to keep his curse at bay. So…Yeah, for the time being, he was going to keep his lips sealed about any of the 'unnecessary' details of that night.
This, however, was a problem. If Kikimora let wind of Hunter's little snack break back there get loose, he'd be in trouble. He wouldn't be able to retaliate against her in fear that she recognized him in Latissa. Like always, he was probably just being paranoid about this whole thing, but he could never be too careful around the other coven officials. Especially around Kikimora, who was always set on making him look bad in order to make herself look better.
Needless to say, Hunter suddenly became very anxious at the fact that Kikimora apparently saw him with Willow and Gus back there. How incredibly stupid was he that he didn't check his surroundings to see if anyone like her was around before he sat down? He was a fool-a complete, utter fool-for even going along with his friends' shenanigans. He knew they meant well, and he knew that he thought those five minutes or so would be inconsequential, but look where he was now! Kikimora, that annoying pest, just had to ruin everything.
It was five minutes, maybe ten at most. A seemingly insignificant amount of time, but when one was the Golden Guard…well, things just couldn't be that easy, could they.
Hunter squared his shoulders and summoned every ounce of confidence that he held within him. Kikimora probably liked to think that she was better than him, but Hunter was the one Belos trusted with more…personal…issues. He was the new head of the Emperor's Coven, not her.
"Is that what it looked like?" Hunter tutted and shook his head. "Don't think I haven't heard what went down at the Coven Day parade, Kiki. If you want to talk about getting distracted, why don't we start there?" That's right, Kikimora was hardly the one to lecture him about getting distracted. There was quite the commotion about her, and as Hunter recalled, Belos hadn't exactly been very pleased. "Would you care to explain what you were doing? From what I gathered, you were planning something pre-ett-tyy bad. Do you really think whatever you thought you saw here today will even compare to that?"
Kikimora could only sputter in response, looking both very annoyed and very angry right now.
A smug look came to Hunter's face. "If that's all, I'll be on my way. If you really want to help, why don't you go set up some chairs or something?" With that, he turned on his heel and walked away from the small demoness. Maybe Belos would catch wind of this, but Hunter hoped he at least showed Kikimora that he wouldn't be bullied to the ground by her, unlike her scouts or the previous coven head, Lilith.
Still, as smug and confident as he may have looked on the outside, Hunter knew he held no real argument against her. Though he may have had a point, there was still no stopping her from telling Belos what transpired here. All he could do now was hope that his uncle wouldn't care.
No one else would care, at least, but Belos…Well, Hunter wasn't so sure his uncle would be understanding about this. The Emperor was definitely not known for being understanding. He'd purposely kept Hunter from interacting with the outside world for years, purposely kept him from making connections from outside the castle. That being the case, what would he do if he knew Hunter had friends?
He just hoped he wouldn't take them away.
"Don't be stupid," Hunter muttered to himself under his breath, as he entered through the doors of the convention center. "You went this long without friends, if worst comes to worst, you can go longer."
He knew that was a lie, though. Besides Flapjack, friends were really all he had right now. Friends were the only thing keeping him pieced together. Maybe he went years without them, but now that he had them, he didn't want to let go. He needed them, needed what little joy he got these days.
Hunter gripped his artificial staff tightly. He wished Flapjack was here with him right now, to listen to his complaints about everything. Flapjack, as it turned out, was a great listener.
A sigh ran through him, and he looked ahead of him at the huge posters that were hung up, announcing the Emperor's Coven tryouts. It was funny, just a little over a week ago, he'd been ecstatic at Darius' idea to find new witches to join the coven, but now…now he wasn't so sure he wanted to doom new recruits to a life like his; a life without friends or family…A life that took you away from everything you've ever cared about.
Hunter used to think that the Emperor's Coven was the greatest thing ever, but now he wasn't so sure. Would something that great hurt so much to be a part of?